The foundation, which manages Dali’s estate on behalf of the Spanish state, said at the time of the exhumation that Dali’s remains – including his famous moustache – were well-preserved and mummified after an embalming process almost 30 years ago.

The Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation said the artist’s remains will be returned to his coffin, which is buried in the Dali Museum Theatre in Figueres, the north-eastern Spanish town of his birth.

Ms Abel said her grandmother revealed the family secret when many years ago and that her mother confirmed the story some years later.

Dali, who died in 1989 aged 84, was one of the 20th century’s most famous and easily recognised artists.

His paintings include The Persistence of Memory, with its iconic images of melting clocks, and he also turned his hand to movies, sculpture and advertising.